


Rising Up

by JustinEverything



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:09:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22644649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustinEverything/pseuds/JustinEverything
Summary: The Arc Clan was once a feared Warrior clan, having united most of the bandit tribes under their rule, they were close to conquering all of Remnant. But they were stopped by the unified kingdoms and were subsequently defeated after a long war. Their former lands stripped from them, their conquest and prowess faded into legend, but one remembers them well. Salem meets with the current Arc Warlord, negotiating an alliance with them. Salem will help them regain their old territories and restore them to their former glory, in return Salem would have access to the warriors of the clan, effectively giving her forces powerful soldiers and generals to help in her goals. Salem proposes an arranged marriage between her protege Cinder Fall and the next heir to the Arc Clan, Jaune, to solidify the alliance.
Relationships: Arcfall, Jaune Arc/Cinder Fall, Knightfall - Relationship
Comments: 24
Kudos: 29





	Rising Up

**Author's Note:**

> Commission for from @the-wayward-arc on tumblr. This is my first ever commission and it's for the guy that convinced me I was good enough to try commissions! Let’s see how I do!

The Grimmlands were not an ideal place for anything. Every type of Grimm known to humanity and faunus, even some that weren’t known, roamed the black and red plains. Like a disorganized army greater than all the kingdom’s…combined. No civilization or vegetation. Just a barren wasteland of death and misery. In the middle of it all was a massive, black stone castle with purple tinted windows. It screamed “STAY AWAY” to any sane person.

Despite all that, two men were still walking straight towards the castle through the desolation. The one in front was a tall, lanky man that was dressed very formally in a dark gray overcoat with matching pants a yellow undercoat. This was the genius scientist Arthur Watts, however was only acting as a guide for the other man. He was the more important individual of the two. 

The other man was several inches taller than Arthur, though the man definitely didn’t share Arthur’s lanky build. Instead, he had broad shoulders and a muscular chest. He wore a white suit of heavy metal armor with gold accents. Chest plate, arm guards, leg plates, and boots. The only thing that wasn’t covered was his head. His long golden blonde hair flowed freely down to his shoulders, pairing perfectly with a short rough beard that was very well-kept. His dark sapphire eyes calmly surveying back and forth across the hordes of Grimm in front of them. Even though they parted out their way and gave them a wide berth on both sides, his right hand didn’t leave large Zweihandler on his back. His collapsible rectangular shield, that was almost as tall and wide as him when fully extended, was ready to be deployed on his left arm.

This was Nicholas Arc. Current patriarch of the Arc clan. A man “ _invited_ ” to these lands and the castle by Arthur Watts at the wishes of his “queen”. Someone named Salem. 

He had been approached by Watts after finishing a huntsman job North of Vale while he was staying at an inn. He persuaded Nicholas rather easily when he brought up his family...and how easily Grimm can overpower any kingdom, let alone a village like the one his family lived in. A bullhead ride later and the two landed on the edge of the Grimmlands. They left the airship, leaving Watts’ pilot behind, and began walking with Arthur leading the way along a path of sorts. 

The walk was relatively quick. After only ten minutes and the castle fully came into view. It was much bigger than what it looked like from the Bullhead. It wasn’t long after they saw it that they reached the front gates. Someone must have been watching them, because the giant stone door was opened before they reached it. Nicholas noticed that a few Ursa Majors were the ones pushing it open. Arthur and Nicholas continued walking right inside, the Ursa closing the door behind them. Arthur turned and smiled at his guest, gesturing forward, “This way Mr. Arc.” and continued to lead him through the castle.

They walked through the halls and up staircases, Nicholas constantly on guard for any ambushes even though none came. Then Watts finally stopped at a door, knocked three times loudly, and opened it. 

Inside was a great hall with a table in the center. Windows circled all around the walls and a wooden chandelier with purple lights hung over the center table. In the chairs around it sat an array of different characters, the one at the head of the table catching his eye the most.

The pale white woman stood up and spread open her arms in greeting. She smiled and said, “Ahhhhh, Nicholas Arc, welcome~. It is a pleasure to meet you. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Salem, ruler of the Grimm. You have obviously already met Arthur Watts, but this is the rest of my circle.” 

Nicholas moved his eyes along each of the individuals in the room as Salem listed them off. Calculating and studying each of them.

Hazel Rainart, a large man that seemed like he’d be the only one that could possibly match him in strength. A physical fighter, though he seems passive.

Tyrian Callows, doesn’t look too strong physically. Though from the look of that thing around his waist, a tail, he’s a faunus of some kind. From the way he’s giggling and the look in his eyes, perhaps insane. That means he’ll be harder to predict.

And Cinder Fall. A young woman with silky black hair and a red dress. She barely looked to be out of her teenage years. No discernible combat traits. The two kids behind her, Salem said they were Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black, were her own personal side hands. Unknown strengths for the green haired girl, but the silver haired boy’s name made him think of the assassin Marcus Black. Maybe they’re related.

Nicholas finished sizing up the occupants in the room and turned back to Salem. “It’s a pleasure. Forgive me for being blunt, but why have you brought me here?”

“Ah yes. Please, sit if you’d like.”

Nicholas didn’t want to sit down, but didn’t want to possibly offend Salem and cause a conflict this early on even more so. He took the empty seat at the other end of the table, but still made his weapons accessible. Watts also went and sat down himself now that Nicholas couldn’t easily leave, something Nicholas hated to realize as the doors of the grand hall latched shut. “So… what is this whole charade about?”

Salem kept smiling as she intertwined her fingers on the table. “We, or more accurately I, wish to enlist your family’s services.”

Nicholas leaned forward, his forearm resting on the table. “What do you mean by ‘services’?”

Salem didn’t stop smiling that small grin of hers. “The Arc family. A clan once full of great and infamous warlords. Dating back to times where the current kingdoms had only just been established, almost since the times where dust was only just discovered. The Arc clan was full of warlords, fighters, and strategists that could overpower any foe they would face. And when one Arc patriarch got ambitious enough, they even ruled the entirety of Sanus. That was, until the rest of Remnant allied themselves to tear the Arcs down nearly two centuries ago. I wish to employ those warriors into my faction.”

Nicholas gripped his knee under the table to vent his shock of Salem’s words. _‘She certainly knows her history.’_ He coughed, staring straight at the woman. “And what sort of employment do you want from us?” 

“As you’ve undoubtedly noticed, the Grimm are my creation. Against what many people believe, Grimm are not always mindless beasts. If I so wish, I can give them orders, coordinate them strategically, or create them to think, predict, and plan for themselves. But that isn’t enough.” Salem leaned forward a bit. “Grimm can be great expendables to throw at small villages or walls of kingdoms, but for a war, I need actual soldiers.”

Nicholas finally got it. “And you want Arcs to fill that role.”

“Yes. It would be perfect to get such famous and infamous warriors to our faction.”

“And I’m guessing I don’t have any choice but to agree?”

“Oh not at all. Of course you have a choice.”

The Arc chuckled morosely. “Really? It’s not a choice if my only options are ‘follow you’ or ‘die’.”

“Mr. Arc, we won’t kill you.” 

“Says the woman that threatened the lives of my family to get me here.” 

Salem looked genuinely confused by Nicholas’ statement. “What are you talking about Mr. Arc?”

“The only reason I am here right now is because Mr. Dapper over there,” Nicholas nudged his head over in Watt’s direction. “threatened to send a Grimm horde to my family’s front door.”

Salem’s eyes grew dark and her smile fell. She swirled her head towards the Atlas scientist. In a cold vice, she asked, “Is that true Arthur?”

Arthur Watts was not a man to show his nerves or discomfort openly. However, on the inside he felt his blood freeze at his queen’s tone. “Well my queen, Mr. Arc’s is paraphrasing m-”

 _“Is. It. True?”_ Salem’s voice somehow got even colder. Even Nicholas shiver a little and he wasn’t even the one her coldness was directed at. 

Watts buckled under his queen’s glare. “Y-yes it is ma’am, but you ordered me to do whatever it took to get him here.”

“ _As our guest_. I was very clear about that. Tell me Watts, do people normally threaten their guests?”

“N-no I-”

“No, no you don’t. That’s what I thought. Since our _guest_ is here right now, we will be discussing your _manners_ later. And you will stay silent for the remainder of this meeting, or our discussion will be less pleasant.”

“Y-yes my queen.”

Salem huffed and turned her head away from Watts and back to Nicholas with an apologetic look. “I am terribly sorry Mr. Arc. My subordinate overstepped his boundaries. I assure you that no harm would have come to your family had you declined. I want you as an ally, not an enemy. We also will not kill or even attack you should you decline my offer.”

The sincerity in Salem’s voice actually caught Nicholas off guard. “You mean that?”

Salem chuckled lightly at his surprise, as if she didn’t just threaten her subordinate a minute ago. “Yes, you are free to leave. You are not going to be forced to join us. I have lived for countless generations. I simply saw this as an opportunity to try a different path towards victory. If you don’t accept, then I can try a different path. I’ve been patient for centuries so far, and I can keep trying for as long it’ll take in the future. Time is an unlimited resource to me.” Watts along with Cinder and her minions seemed to become nervous when she said that, and Nicholas understood why. Salem might be immortal, or so she says, but they definitely weren’t. This lifetime was the only chance they had to succeed. “I also know for a fact you could most likely eliminate all of my circle as well as any multitude of Grimm I could throw at you if we were to attack you.”

Tyrian finally spoke up to defend himself. “M-my queen, there is no need to flatter this man to that extent. If you just say the word I’ll-”

Salem’s eyes glared over at Tyrian, but kept her face pointing at Nicholas. “It’s not flattery Tyrian. It is simply the truth. I’ve seen what Arcs are capable of,especially Nicholas here. He’s slaughtered everything from Alpha Deathstalkers to Goliaths single handedly and with ease.”

“So you _have_ been spying on me then?”

Salem looked proud of herself at Nicholas’ accusation. “Of course Mr. Arc. I obviously did my research before I decided to try and recruit your clan.”

Nicholas felt back into a corner. In enemy territory, surrounded by a Grimm army and unknown assailants who had an unknown amount of info on him. However, there were two ways out offered to him to survive. One a guarantee...and the other only a possibility. Salem might just be lying, so he couldn’t leave just yet. Instead, he explored the other option. “Let’s just say I agree to your proposition and have the Arc clan fight for you…..what would we get in return?”

The woman on the other side of the table, Cinder, spoke up. “Is surviving not enough for you old man?” 

Salem raised her hand to stop Cinder and glared at her. “Cinder, refrain from insulting our guest in the future. I extended my hospitality to him and I expect you to do the same.” The young brunette fell silent immediately.

Salem looked away from her underling and back to Nicholas. “It is completely reasonable to want a reward in return for your services. We plan to offer you and your clan the chance to regain the power and territory you lost all those years ago. Rulers of Sanus once again with the power to do whatever you want as long as it doesn’t oppose or anger me. ”

At her words, Nicholas thought back to the old clan texts he’d read as a child. Those that still remained depicted great warlords who had almost everything and could get anything they didn’t. Then he flashed to his own father ranting every chance he got to his children how great the Arc clan once was. How one day the Arc family would rise to that level of greatness again one day! The ambition of his father did run through him, but not as strongly. “I will admit, having the Arc family back to the prestige it had decades ago, before being wiped from history, would be pretty remarkable. Hell, my old man would have agreed the second you said that would be the reward.” Nicholas chuckled to himself. Matais Arc was a good father, but he could certainly be a tunnel visioned man at times. 

Nicholas stopped chuckling and looked Salem in the eye. “But I am not my father. I need more than just the ability to retain what we once had. Especially when this would cost so much on my family’s part. We’ve moved on from those times. Most of us are still fighting as strong warriors, but also as huntsman and huntresses. If we are going to side with you, we’ll lose all the respect of humanity that we’ve fought over and died to earn. We’ll never be able to go back.”

Salem sighed. _‘I thought it wouldn’t be enough.’_ “Then what else would we need to offer you?”

Nicholas thought. He honestly didn’t want much. He personally didn’t want to rule kingdoms like how past Arcs did. He was pretty content with his life the way it was. He had just enough fame from being a huntsman to give him joy, plenty of money to spend from said huntsmanship, and had his own big house for him and his huge family. 

His family... 

Nicholas’ mind raced to his family. His lovely wife Juniper and his eight beautiful children. His oldest Saphron all the way down to his only son Jaune. Whether he did this or not, the chances of them being killed were too high. They always were when Grimm invasions could possibly happen at any time. Not only that, but he had very close friends, as did his wife and kids, that he considered like family. They would be just as vulnerable to being killed in the war against the Grimm.

He knew what he wanted. “You said you could command the Grimm. That means that you can give them orders that they’ll follow?”

Salem nodded. “Indeed I can. I can create them with the orders imprinted on them or I can relay messages through them and they will follow them. No Grimm has ever opposed my command.”

 _‘If she will live forever, and keep the war with Grimm going until she wins, then I need to worry about the future of my family. If this means a chance to spare my future kin untimely deaths, then I need to take it!’_ Nicholas steeled his morals, and thought of his family as he made his demands. “Then if the Arc clan is going to fight for you, I want you to order your Grimm to no longer attack someone from the Arc family and those close to them from here on out. For as long as the Arcs live.”

The room was silent. If that request bothered Salem, she showed no signs of it. “Mr. Arc, it is admirable to want to save your family, but this is a war we are going to be fighting. And it will be somewhat suspicious if all of my Grimm suddenly stop attacking so many people all from the same family. Not to mention the people they are ‘close to’. Considering how big your family is and how well liked most of them are, that’s a lot of people for my Grimm to avoid all together.”

Nicholas sighed. She had a point and it was a long shot asking in the first place. “A understand. Then can you at least order them to not maim or kill. That way the illusion will remain for your side and my family will still live, they just may have to heal up over time.”

Salem thought for a moment, and spoke. “That is more doable, yes. Very well, it will be done. Is that all you desire?”

“Yes. If my family survives and lives on, then I shall be content.”

Salem smiled. A few hundred or so people being left alive after she’d brought the world to its knees would be a worthwhile trade in return for the Arc clan’s loyalty. “Then it will be done!”  
Her proclamation boomed throughout the hall.

…

As the echo quickly died down though, Nicholas felt as though it was somewhat anticlimactic. “That’s it? Just like that? I’m just supposed to accept your word that you’ll follow through?”

Tyrian glared at the Arc and growled. “You dare disrespect our queen?! You should know to show her the respect she deserves you insolent ba-”

He didn’t get to finish his threat before he was cut off again by his queen. “Tyrian, I can speak for myself just fine. He has the right to have his suspicions. And he is wise to have them.” Salem stared at Nicholas. “Though I must say I have the same worries.”

The Arc let out a dry chuckle. “You’ve been spying on my family for however long, yet you don’t know one of the Arc’s biggest rules.”

Almost at the same time, Salem and Nicholas both said, “Arcs never go back on their word.” Nicholas raised an eyebrow after hearing the Grimm queen copy him.

“Mr. Arc, I know full well about your family’s ‘code’, but I’m afraid I simply won’t accept your word on this deal. I can’t trust that I’ll have your family’s allegiance founded on nothing more than a ‘code’.”

  
Nicholas knew he shouldn’t, but he felt insulted by Salem’s word. The Arc clan was very proud about keeping their promises. They always did their best to keep them…or died trying to. Nicholas buried those feelings, getting riled up now would only cause more problems. “So what do you suggest then? If I can’t accept your word and you won’t accept mine, then we don’t have much of an agreement do we?”

Salem smiled, having already thought this through before asking Nicholas to join them. Though her circle didn’t know this fact. Not that it mattered. They were there to serve her, by any means. “I had something more tangible in mind.”

“Like what?”

“Simple. A contract between you and I.”

“A contract? What, you won’t accept my word, but my signature will do?”

“You misunderstand Mr. Arc. I am not talking about a flimsy paper contract businesses use that both parties follow under the fear of lawful repercussions. Here, there is no law to fear or keep us in check. No, I was thinking along the lines of a _marriage contract_.”

Once Salem said those two words, it seemed all noise in the world stopped for a moment. Her circle had surprise on their faces, apart from Tyrian who looked devastated. 

Nicholas wasn’t much better. He raised his hands and shook them side to side furiously, wide eyed after what he just heard. “Wait, wait, wait! I’m sorry, but that’s a no can do. Nothing against you, but I am already a married man! A _very_ happily married man!”

Salem actually _laughed_ at Nicholas’ reaction. It was haunting the way it echoed around the hall. “While I have little doubt that you would be a very suitable husband to me, I’m aware of your marital status. Besides, the last time I had a husband, it didn’t end well between us.” Salem stood up and started pacing her way around the table. Emerald and Mercury tensed up in fear when she stopped behind them and Cinder. She moved between them and they eagerly got out of her way. Cinder tried not to not to show any emotion over having her queen standing so close to her, but Nicholas saw an unnerved look flash across her eyes. “It is to my knowledge that there is another male Arc within your immediate family. A young man that happens to look a lot like you did in your younger years.”

 _‘Jaune!’_ Nicholas’ thoughts flashed to his only son. He’d made it a point to try and steer all his kids away from the hardships in a hunter’s life. He avoided giving them combat training and he barely even told them about the Arc’s history, though that didn’t stop their aunts, uncles, and grandfather from doing so. Jaune had been memorized by all the stories and dreamed of living up to them himself. Now, Salem wanted him to put his youngest child in the middle of all of this? That thought made him clench his hand into a tight fist.

“Although my memory is not perfect. How old is your son currently?”

“...13….Almost 14…”

“And he is also the heir to your clan, correct?” Nicholas nodded. Salem rested her right hand on the back Cinder’s chair. “Your heir Jaune is 13. Cinder here is 17. Four years isn’t that big of an age gap, don’t you think Mr. Arc?” Salem didn’t see Cinder’s eyes widen in realization. 

She did however see Nicholas’ eyes narrow. “You want an arranged marriage between my son, and _her_?”

“Yes. Of course not now, but in a few years. Your son may need to mature a little bit more before he becomes interested in women.”

Nicholas fell silent. He didn’t know what to do. He had agreed to Salem’s offer to keep his family OUT of all the dangers of the Hunter’s war on Grimm. He couldn’t make that in vain by tossing Jaune into the root of it all!

...but what if he didn’t? What if he changed his mind, said no to the contract? The answer was simple.

Then his ENTIRE family will be at risk in the future as long as Salem and/or Grimm remained. His son’s possible danger, or his whole family’s unavoidable future hardships and suffering?

_‘Jaune always did want to be a hero. He needs to learn being a hero takes risks and sacrifices...but he’s my boy…'_

...

 _‘Dammit all.’_ Nicholas had made up his mind. “Okay. Deal.”

Cinder still had her own opinion on the whole matter, but as Salem smiled, moving to stand next to her and rested a hand on her shoulder, Cinder wisely kept her disagreements silent. For now.

“Excellent. When shall we make it official.”

“When my son turns 18, meets her,” he threw a hand up to gesture to Cinder. ”and they have an actual public wedding ceremony.”

“That’s very reasonable. I’m glad you’ve decided this, Mr. Arc. This will certainly be an interesting alliance.”

“Yes…..it will be.”

  
**…………Time skip (4 years later)…………**

  
“And that’s how it happened. So yes, that lady Cinder Fall is your Fiancé.” 

“Dad! What the hell!” Jaune screamed into his scroll.

It had been just a normal Friday for Jaune. Wake up in JNPR’s dorm at Beacon, get dressed in his Beacon uniform for his day of classes, and head down with his team to the cafeteria for breakfast. That was where the normality stopped.

Jaune was just eating some pancakes, at least the ones he could sneak past Nora, when he felt two taps on his shoulder. He turned his head to look behind him and saw quite a beautiful woman standing there. Behind said woman was a tall boy with silver hair and a dark skinned girl with mint green hair. The woman herself was an elegant looking woman with silky black hair, amber eyes, and a hand with finger nails painted red caressing her cheek. “Um….hello?”

The woman made an amused sound while smiling softly. In a smooth voice, the woman spoke. “Are you Jaune Arc?”

“Uh yeah. That’s me. Short, sweet, rolls of the tongue. Ladies love it.” The green haired girl’s sound of disgust made Jaune realize that maybe he shouldn’t have led with that. Jaune coughed awkwardly into his fist and just moved on from it. “S-so um, yes. I’m Jaune Arc.”

Her golden eyes seemed to glow brighter. “Excellent. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you for some time now.”

Jaune spun around on the cafeteria bench and stood up slowly. As he stood up straight, he noticed that the woman was actually an inch or two shorter than him. He gave her a questioning look. “D-do I know you?”

She never once stopped wearing that soft, confident smile of hers. “Not yet no, but I think you will soon enough.” She took one quick step forward and closed the distance between the two of them. She was now standing only a few inches from Jaune, who was feeling rather uncomfortable now. His team and team RWBY were also giving looks that showed they were feeling uncomfortable as well. Her hand left her cheek and found a new home on Jaune’s. Jaune was surprised by how warm it was. “My name is Cinder Fall.” 

Without a warning or any kind of tell sign, Cinder’s nimble fingers grabbed the collar of Jaune’s uniform and pulled him forward into a kiss. A kiss that definitely had a lot of tongue action involved on Cinder’s end. It was obviously a one-sided exchange. Her eyes were closed to enjoy the kiss, while Jaune’s were as open as they possibly could be from the shock of the sudden make out session Cinder had initiated.

Reactions of those that saw this varied across Beacon’s cafeteria. Team RWBY was mostly blushing and wide eyed. Ren and Nora were speechless. Pyrrha had a blush on her frozen face that made her blend seamlessly with her hair. Mercury didn’t give a damn while Emerald looked murderously at Jaune. Also a few of the more outgoing students gave out wolf whistles and call outs. 

Cinder slipped her tongue out of Jaune’s mouth and pulled back, her lips made wet sucking sound as the pulled off Jaune’s. She opened her eyes, showing they held a devilish glee, and licked her lips hungrily. She took a good look at Jaune’s wide eyes and frozen facial features before speaking again, dropping a bombshell on the surrounding students. “And I am your fiancé~.”

After a little freak out, Cinder recommended that he should call his dad to confirm her declaration, and Jaune promptly ran out of the cafeteria to do just that. Since it was breakfast, Jaune was the only one around the courtyard as the other students were eating or already in classes. Which was a good thing considering that Nicholas was telling the story to his son, minus a few details Nicholas didn’t really find necessary. Jaune didn’t really take the information too well. “Dad! How does any of this seem okay to you!?”

He heard his father sigh into the scroll. “Jaune, I know this is completely out of the dark for you, and I’m sorry for hiding it from you for all this time, but I made that deal with the future of the family in mind. I also know it isn’t fair to you. I am sorry, but it’s too late. The deal is made. You wanted to be a hero right? Well being a hero takes risks and sacrifices.”

“B-but what if I don’t go along with this huh!? You made the deal, but I never had a say! What if I decide not to marry her?!”

Nicholas’s spoke in a matter of fact tone. “I’d assume that Salem wouldn’t take too kindly to our family trying to back out of our end of the deal.”

“SO!?”

“So she would most likely make an effort to wipe out our entire family. AND the people we consider family.”

Jaune fell silent to take that in. It was on him now to decide the fate of his entire family. Finally he spoke into his scroll again. “So this is just suppose to be how my life is now?” His voice was even, but Nicholas could sense his son’s anger through the phone.

“Jaune I-”

“Is this why you never trained me? Never wanted me to be a huntsman?”

“N-no, Jaune this has nothing to d-”

“I mean after all, why would I need to be a Huntsman? You made a deal that would basically make that a completely useless idea. Why fight the Grimm right? We can just work with them, all it takes is innocent people to die instead of us and your son’s right to choose what he wants to do with his life! You know dad, I might not have the experience of doing them, but I know that being a hero takes some risks and sacrifices. But I also know that the hero should be the one to CHOSE WHAT RISKS TO TAKE, WHAT SACRIFICES TO MAKE, AND WHO THEY SHOULD FUCKING BE FOR!” While he was ranting, Jaune’s voice quickly grew louder.

Nicholas was completely silent. He had never heard his son like that before, and he never swore, especially at him or Juniper. When he finally found his voice, he was barely able to form any words. “J-Jaune...I-”

An alarm sounded out from Jaune’s scroll, interrupting his father. Jaune pulled his scroll away from his ear and looked at the alarm. “ _10:00 Combat Class: Ms. Goodwitch_ ”. It was his alarm that signaled his first class with Ms. Goodwitch was starting. And he was late for it...damn.

“Dad I need to go to class. I’ll talk to you some other time. Bye.” Nicholas only stuttered out a single syllable before Jaune hung up on his father. Then he turned his scroll off for good measure. Jaune muttered under his breath, “Welp...guess I should head to class” and trudged back into Beacon and towards his first class.

Jaune speed-walked alone through the large halls of the school for five minutes until he reached the door to Ms. Goodwitch’s classroom. With a sigh that did little to ease his temper, Jaune opened the door and stepped inside, just as Cardin’s back and then face slammed into the floor.

“Winner Pyrrha Nikos! Please refrain from being so excessive in your next spar. And Mr Winchester, your swings are getting faster, but you need to be able to think of a strategy when your blows aren’t hitting your opponent. You can’t keep swinging hoping one will connect. Both of you, back to your seats please.” While Cardin picked himself up with a grunt, Ms. Goodwitch caught sight of Jaune trying to sneak up the stands. “Mr. Arc!”

Jaune froze mid-step on his way up the stairs. He put his foot back down and turned to face Ms. Goodwitch. Even though he was still furious with his dad and the whole situation he was in, his fear of the disciplinarian still over rode that anger. Jaune gulped nervously and answered. “Y-yes Ms. Goodwitch?”

Ms. Goodwitch rubbed her thumb over the top of her riding crop, and leveled a harsh glare at her tardy student. “So nice of you to join us for class today. Mind sharing with us why you were late while everyone else was on time? Even the transfer students were here by 10:00 A.M. sharp.” Glynda gestured with her hand towards the audience, and Jaune looked toward them. 

He saw his team, all three of them waving kindly to him, team RWBY was in the row in front of them. All around the room were also teams from different schools, indicated by their uniforms. And at the very top row, the row directly behind his team, was the three people he’d meet in the cafeteria. There, with her elegant chin resting on top of her propped up hands and wearing a confident smile, was Cinder Fall...now confirmed to be his future wife.

Whatever words he’d thought of to answer his teacher got scrambled as his eyes met Cinder’s. The whole situation of the morning was finally hitting him. He robotically turned back to Ms. Goodwitch and did his best to answer. “I-I ummm…I had t-to make a call...to my dad. Having s-some...ummm...family issues…” 

The way his professor hummed showed she didn’t believe what Jaune had said. “Well since you’ve decided to make such an entrance, how about you participate in the next spar?” It wasn’t a genuine question. “Go get ready for your match against…hmmm…Mr. Lark, how about you be Mr. Arc’s opponent for his match?”

Sky Lark smirked and looked at Jaune, no doubt happily thinking that he had an easy win ahead of him. “Sure, I’m game.” With that he stood from his seat and walked towards the stairs, getting high fives from his teammates at his lucky match up on his way out. Even Cardin, despite his sore body from Pyrrha’s thrashing, managed to raise his hand up to smack into Sky’s.

Both Jaune and Sky walked off to the lockers to get their gear and prepare for their bout. A couple minutes later, both students stood ready in the classroom’s arena. Ms. Goodwitch stepped into the middle of the ring between them to give her usual “rules and safety” speech.

“Each of you will fight to the best of your ability until your opponent either gets knocked out of the ring, their Aura hits ten percent and enters the red zone, or I call for you either of you to stop. Failure to follow these instructions shall result in a forfeit of the match and possible detention. Now, are both fighters ready?” 

Sky nodded, smirking as he spun and flourished his halberd Feather’s Edge, showing off before stopping it in a prepared stance. Jaune for his part simply drew Crocea Mors from his sheath and expanded said sheath into its shield mode. He raised his shield in front of him on his left arm and raised his blade behind him to take a defensive stance. His temper was still high, but he tossed it into the back of his mind in order to focus on his impending fight. Finally, he nodded his head once to signal he was ready. 

Ms. Goodwitch walked backwards to the edge of the ring and called out loudly “Students ready...you may begin!”, and stepped backwards fully out of the ring.

Sky moved first, not wasting any time to get his easy win for the day. As he approached, he lowered his halbard’s blade to Jaune’s lower left and swung it upwards diagonally. Jaune had to lower his shield down to deflect the attack, but instead it took the full brunt of the swing and it knocked his shield completely out of the way. Sky spun the pole in his hands to repositioned the blade and swung it back down. Since his shield wasn’t an option, Jaune threw himself backwards into a roll and quickly stood up, only to see Sky rushing him to keep pushing his attack.

In the seats, Cinder looked down at her future ‘ _husband’s_ ’ match with little interest. Her mood while watching was matched by Emerald next to her. Unlike her though, Emerald decided to voice her opinion quietly to her ’ _team_ ’. “Wow…. he’s really bad.”

Cinder huffed lightly, but nodded in agreement with her statement. In a low voice herself, she said, “Well, regardless, I don’t have much say in this matter. Hopefully this means he won’t dare question what I tell him to do. Maybe he’ll be a nice foot rest while his family members with actual talent do all of the fighting for us.” 

Emerald snickered at Cinder’s comment. “Heh, I’d like to say that maybe he’ll make a good butler, but with how he’s fumbling about I doubt it.” That got a ‘hmmm’ of agreement from Cinder. Mercury rolled his eyes at the two, not caring either way. He just yawned and put his head down on the desk to catch some shut eye. 

Cinder hadn’t been happy about Salem’s use of her in her little deal, but overall she had no say. At least she could see the strategic benefits of the deal. A small army of great fighters and tacticians, all for simply having to call a man her husband. She didn’t have to care for him. Just bed him once or twice to keep him complacent under her heel. That’s why she was so aggressive in her introduction. She wanted her _dear future husband_ to have no illusions about who really was in control in their ‘marriage’. Especially after seeing how he handled himself in a fight.

Back down in the spar, Sky was still holding the advantage. He dodged backwards to get out of reach from Jaune’s horizontal slash. He raised the tip of his halberd up to be aimed at Jaune. Jaune was able to spot the barrel opening on the halberd’s end just before Sky pulled the trigger. He sidestepped quickly and heard two consecutive _BANGS_ of gunfire followed by the sound of the bullets whizzing past him.

 _‘Of course it’s also a gun. Cause everything needs to also be a gun!’_ Jaune ranted in his head. Jaune steadied his feet on the ground, and began to think. _‘Okay...okay...his weapon is a halberd. It has a long reach. Longer than my sword for sure. Plus the gun is for long range. I need to get in close.’_ Jaune grit his teeth and leaped forward, closing the distance between him and Sky. There was only a few inches between their chests now. Sky eyes widened in surprise and he, along with the whole audience, wondered what the blond was thinking. 

Apparently, Jaune hadn’t thought it through either. He was super close to his opponent so Sky couldn’t effectively attack, but neither could he. He hadn’t moved his blade to a position that he could slash or stab. So Jaune did the first thing that came to mind.

He used his head. Literally.

“Gah!” Sky stumbled back, his left hand reaching up to hold his assaulted nose. Aura or not, getting hit in the face, especially the nose, still hurts. Sky moved his hand away and looked at it to make sure it wasn’t bleeding. Then glared at the blond knight in front of him, who looked genuinely surprised that his attack had worked. 

Sky was starting to get frustrated. Jaune was considered one of the worst fighters in the first years and yet he hadn’t been able to land a solid strong blow against him. _‘He just keeps blocking and dodging! How the hell is this fight lasting so long!? He should have been flat on his ass two minutes into this! That’s how it always went with Cardin. Is he getting better?’_

Sky took a moment to take Jaune’s form. It was solid. It had openings and wasn’t perfect, but it was _solid_. The nervous shaking he normally had when in a spar was gone from his arms and legs. His eyes held a determined and focused flame. _‘So he’s actually focused on the fight now. Let’s try to douse that little spirit of his huh?’_

“You know Jauney-boy, Cardin apparently _doesn’t_ exaggerate about you. Hardly felt that little love tap. Congrats on finally getting an actual hit in though, even if my Aura didn’t need to take it.” That got Jaune to look up at the Aura Gauges on the screen. His headbutt had barely taken a single percent off Sky’s Aura. Only one...single….percent. Sky was still at 99%. It honestly probably hurt himself more than him. Speaking of which, his Aura was significantly lower from the grazes he’d gotten when he failed to fully dodge. Sky kept going, “I honestly thought all you’d learn so far is how to run and cower. You’ve been doing it since day one. Why are you even here if all you are gonna do is hide behind the real Hunters?”

While Sky continued to rant on, the onlookers who were still paying attention to the match could only watch and silently disagree. Even Glynda shook her head as she listened to Sky’s words. It wasn’t very becoming, but taunting was a valid strategy. Even if it was crass. NPR and RWBY were feeling varying stages of annoyance at Sky’s cruel remarks. From slightly agitated in Weiss and Blake so wanting to break his legs in Nora and Pyrrha. Sky had no idea how hard Jaune pushed himself to get stronger.

Something else Sky didn’t know was just what affect his words had on Jaune. They had made him lose focus all right. Instead of the fight, Jaune was now focusing on the conversation he had with his dad not even half an hour ago. 

The revelation that his own dad had basically sold him off. That his whole dream of being a Huntsman, being a hero, was just as his dad had told him so many times throughout his life.

Pointless. Foolish. A waste of time.

Memories rushed through his head. His father’s voice filled his ears. 

_“The world’s got enough Hunters. How about becoming a doctor or something if you want to help people?”_

_“Sorry Jaune, but I don’t think you should attend Signal. It’s too late to sign up this year anyways.”_

_“How about we go fishing instead of training Jaune?”_

_“There’s no need for you to be a huntsman.”_

Everything rushed forward Jaune at once. All of the time his father had told him no, all the times of him asking to be trained ignored, all the refusals to send him to a combat school. Every obstacle keeping him from his dream existed because his father used him like a sacrificial pawn.

Sky stopped his verbal assault to smirked when he saw Jaune head droop, letting his bangs cover his eyes and hiding his face. Then his shoulders started to shake. Sky scoffed at how easy it was to get under his skin and mess him up. He decided to be nice and end it here and now before the whole class saw him cry. He slowly walked over towards Jaune’s shaking form. His strides and smug smile oozed arrogance while he spun Feather’s Edge around him like a windmill. 

Using the momentum his weapon had built up, Sky swung the bladed end down to cut into Jaune’s shoulder and bring his Aura down the rest of the way with one final blow. Jaune’s team and team RWBY watched worriedly as Jaune just stood stock still, waiting for the blow to come, seemingly giving up the fight. Cinder rolled her eyes at the showboating of the blue haired male and sighed in complete disappointment as she prepared to watch her _‘betrothed’_ lose.

…

**THUD**

… 

Or that was what they all thought was going to happen. What no one had expected to happen was Jaune raising his head and reaching out his shield arm to grab the pole of Sky’s halberd and stop its descent completely. The weapon sailed just past the edge of the shield and into Jaune’s open hand. 

Sky’s eyes widened in surprise at Jaune’s success in stopping his attack, then growled in annoyance seeing he wasn’t giving up just yet. “Dammit Arc just gi-” Sky’s voice died in his throat when he saw the blonde’s eyes meet his through the strands of hair hanging in front of his face. Something was off about them. Before he could comprehend what he saw, he felt his weapon, and by literal extension himself, being violently yanked forward. His grip on his weapon was unbreakable after all. 

He didn’t let go even after Jaune’s other hand, still wrapped around the handle of his sword, slugged him in the face. Though he was knocked off his feet and sent flying since Jaune had released the halberd from his grasp.

Sky landed several feet away and slid a few extra. When he finally stopped he began to push himself up, dazed by what just happened. _‘Since when could he hit like that!? That was almost as hard as Xiao Long!’_ Through his shock at being sent flying from Jaune’s haymaker, Sky managed to get up to his feet rather quickly. 

Just in time to get bashed in the face by Jaune’s shield. His head snapped back from the force behind the shield. Before he had any chance to recover, Jaune slashed into his stomach with his sword. The only reason Sky didn’t get gutted was thanks to his aura flaring to block it from cutting through the weaker part of his armor. 

However, it also had the unintentional outcome of Sky flipping over the blade as Jaune continued to push it upwards after connecting.

Sky’s back hit the ground once again, knocking the air out of his lungs with a loud gasp. He instinctively rolled out of the way towards the center of the ring to avoid Jaune downward swing. The blade slammed against the arena floor, leaving a large crack in the tiles. 

Sky, now far enough away, scrambled to his feet. His breathing was rapid while he tried to catch his breath. Luckily for him he had managed to hold onto his weapon during Jaune’s assault. Now it was his turn.

As Jaune began to charge at him, Sky aimed the barrel of Feather’s Edge at Jaune and emptied his entire clip at him. Jaune didn’t falter a single step of his charge as he raised his shield in front of him. Each and every one of Sky’s bullets ricochet off and he continued to push forward. Sky saw the oncoming tank charge and began to spin his weapon to build up some momentum. His plan was to meet Jaune’s charge with the blade of Feather’s Edge in a devastating clothesline. 

That didn’t happen. Jaune, after seeing Sky spin his weapon like a fan, decided to throw a wrench into Sky’s plan. Or the next best thing at least.

A shield.

Jaune flung his left arm forward and his shield flew right off. The way he had thrown it was like an oddly shaped frisbee, wobbly spinning as it sailed to its destination. That being Sky’s face.

Sky saw the incoming projectile immediately. He moved the spinning of his weapon in front of him to block it. His halberd and Jaune’s shield collided with a loud _CLANG_ of metal. Sky was successful in stopping the airborne shield, knocking the shield down and clatter to the floor. However, it completely stopped his weapon’s momentum, which was Jaune’s plan all along.

Jaune was right behind his shield. He thrusted his blade forward to stab Sky in the chest. Sky managed to redirect the blade off to his right side with the pole of his weapon, but Jaune followed by crashing his now free left hand into Sky’s forehead. The blue haired man stumbled back and was then hit in his armor on his right side by Jaune’s sword. Jaune had simply swung his weapon back up from Sky’s previous redirection.

Jaune continued to push his barrage of attacks. Every slash with his sword that got blocked or missed was followed by a fist. Whenever he struck out with his hand, he’d either use it as a feint or used it to move Sky’s block out of the way.

Jaune relentlessly continued his frenzy of attacks. Sky could do nothing but be on the defensive, literally getting pushed back. It wasn’t towards the edge of the arena though. Jaune was making Sky back up in almost a circle. He’d diverge one way and Jaune would push the attack the way to get him on track. Sky realized this as block both Jaune’s fist and follow up slash. He just couldn’t figure out why. _‘Why wouldn’t he try to just force me out of the ring?’_ Sky didn’t have much time to dwell on it as he sidestepped a sword thrust from Jaune.

What Sky didn’t know was he fell into Jaune’s hands even quicker by doing that. Because when Sky’s foot landed, it didn’t land on the arena’s tiles. Instead it landed on something that moved slightly. Sky looked down and saw that he now had one foot standing on Jaune’s shield. After Sky fully registered what he’s stepped on, he then realized the fatal mistake he had made.

He took his eyes off of his opponent. 

By the time he looked back up, Jaune was already shoving him back. He stomped down on Sky’s foot that wasn’t on his shield, pinning it to the floor. Then he easily knocked Sky over by shoving him in the chest with his free hand, then following through with his shoulder. The shield scraped along the floor as it slid across the tiles, and carrying Sky’s foot with it. Now being shoved by Jaune’s full strength without having a stable base easily toppled Sky over, making him land on the floor for a third time.

Sky groaned in annoyance as he rolled onto his back. His groan was quickly drowned out by a violent roar above him. It was Jaune, letting out a roar so loud it was probably heard throughout Beacon. What caught Sky’s attention was how he had his sword raised above his head with two hands. Sky wasn’t a genius, but it didn’t take one to know what his next move was going to be.

Sky brought his halberd up perpendicularly in front of him just in time to block Jaune bringing his sword down. His sword hammered down on the shaft of Feather’s Edge. A loud screech of metal filled the classroom. Sky was just lucky his arms didn’t give out. 

Unfortunately, his weapon did.

The entire audience, who were watching in stunned silence the entire time, were now all wide eyed as they watch Jaune’s weapon connect with Sky’s and halberd pole bent down from the force behind the attack it had taken.

Only Sky and Glynda could feel how much power was really behind that attack though. A rush of air hit Sky in the face as he laid on the ground, using everything he had to keep his arms up under the pressure Jaune was pushing on him. Glynda had seen Sky’s hair get blown out of the way and then felt a light breeze along her legs, so she could also tell how hard Jaune had brought Crocea Mors down.

The two hunters in training stayed in that position, both sweating and panting as they continued a constant struggle while trying to catch their breath. During this stalemate, Sky looked up at Jaune past the halberd and sword locked together. His eyes meet Jaune’s, and he froze. It was the same look he saw earlier. Only this time, they kept staring into his eyes. Into his soul. He couldn’t look away. It was like looking into the eyes of something worse than a grimm.

His arms started to shake. Not just because they were getting tired from the strain of holding his halberd up under Jaune’s pressure, but because of the eyes staring down at him unblinkingly accompanied by a completely stoic face. He was scared of them, scared because they promised pain like he’d never known before.

After ten seconds that felt like hours to Sky, Jaune finally made a move. With a grunt he slid Crocea Mors up towards Feather’s Edge so that the cross-guard slammed into it. He continued pushing, using the cross-guard to move Sky’s weapon above him and to the arena floor. So Jaune couldn’t move his sword any further due to the blade hitting the floor, consequently this also made it slip from his grasp and skid along the floor. Not missing a beat, he grabbed the pole with his left hand and pushed it the rest of the way to the floor. This also pinned Sky’s hands under it.

Jaune, however, still had his right hand free. Sky soon learned that fact first hand, as Jaune crashed a fist into his nose. Sky’s head bounced back and thumped into the floor. He couldn’t even open his eyes, which he closed from the pain, before Jaune had cocked his arm back again and punched Sky again. This time with a hook across the right cheek. Sky head snapped to the left after Jaune’s fist connected.

Punch after punch hit Sky, either in the nose or the right side of his face. Sky couldn’t get his hands free from under his halberd to defend himself, and after the first two punches he was too dazed to think of doing it even if he could. He was at Jaune’s mercy....and Jaune didn’t seem to be showing any of it. 

Jaune didn’t stop punching. He didn’t stop when the alarm sounded for Sky’s Aura reaching ten percent, entering the red. He didn’t stop when his Aura shattered after hitting zero. Or when the next punch after that slammed into his nose with an unmistakable _CRACK_. He only stopped after that one because he actually couldn’t bring his hand down again, due to it being covered in the purple glow of Glynda’s semblance.

“That is quite enough Mr. Arc.” Glynda ordered as she held a stern glare at him. “The match is over. Let Mr. Lark go. Now.”

Jaune blinked a few times before throwing himself backwards off of Sky while a startled yelp, scrambling away from Sky’s body. Now that Jaune was off of him, Sky groaned and slowly rolled over onto his side, then just as slowly pushed himself up. His arms shook as he managed to get to his knees and look at Professor Goodwitch.

She looked back and forth between the two of them evenly. Sky was on both knees with a nose that was dripping a steady stream of blood. He seemed dazed, but was regaining his whereabouts. Jaune was sitting and leaning back with his hands behind propping him up. He had an absolutely confused and shocked look plastered on his face. 

Glynda settled her gaze on Sky, deciding to start with him first. “Mr. Lark, while you were leading in the fight and held the advantage for the first part of the match, you ended up causing your own defeat. Taunting may be a valid strategy, it also can be unpredictable in the outcome that follows it, as you no doubt experienced. Your arrogance and underestimating Mr. Arc’s abilities lead to your current situation. Do keep that in mind for your fight in the future.”

Sky had managed to get on his feet during Glynda’s evaluation. He held a hand to his nose, trying in vain to stop the throbbing pain and the steady stream of blood. He nodded his head softly to avoid causing any more pain. “Yes Ms. Goodwitch.”

Ms. Goodwitch nodded Sky acknowledged her words. She walked over to her desk and pulled out several tissues from the box that was on it. She walked back and held the wad out to Sky. “You are dismissed for the rest of class Mr. Lark. I suggest that you go to the infirmary to get your nose inspected, as well as the workshop to get your weapon repaired.

Sky nodded his head once again and accepted the wad of tissues being held out to him. He winced slightly as he pressed it against his broken nose. He bent over and picked up his weapon, which now had a defining kink in the center of the pole, before speed walking towards the door of the classroom. 

As the door closed shut, Ms. Goodwitch turned her attention to her remaining student in the arena, who had also gotten back to his feet.

“Well Mr. Arc, it was nice to finally see you be offensive in a spar for once, even though it was a bit excessive. You did well in flipping the tables on Mr. Lark. You were quick to think on your feet, using your shield as a distraction. However, you must keep your emotions under control. I understand how easily one can lose themselves in the heat of battle, but you must keep your mind focused and sound. Otherwise you will hardly be any different from the grimm, fighting only to conquer or hurt others. Now seeing as your state of mind was the end result of Mr. Lark’s plan to taunt you that lead to your actions, only to have obviously backfired, I shall let you keep the victory of this match on your record instead of forfeiting it for not stopping at my call or when his Aura hit red. However, you will still be given a detention for violating the rules. I expect to see you here tomorrow morning at 9:00 A.M. on the dot. I won’t accept you being tardy again. Am I clear?”

Jaune gulped nervously, still looking confused, but nodded his head. “Yes Ms. Goodwitch.”

Glynda nodded her head once to acknowledge his answer. She raised her riding crop up behind her. Jaune’s shield and sword rumbled a little before they gently sailed through the air, stopping right in front of Jaune. The boy seemed hesitant to reach out and take them, but did so anyways. “Congratulations on your first victory Mr. Arc. You may take your seat.”

Jaune collapsed his shield and sheathed his blade to make Crocea Mors whole again before speed walking to the stands and up the stairs, trying to ignore all the stares watching him along the way.

As Jaune walked through the row to sit down next to the rest of his team, he failed to look up and see Cinder staring at him.

“Well….that was something.” Cinder nodded her head slightly along in agreement with Emerald’s mumbled statement. She hadn’t looked away from Jaune since that other boy tried to goad him, Jaune seemed to...change. That was when she started watching Jaune with genuine interest. Unlike the rest of the class, sans Sky who was on the receiving end of it, Cinder saw what that change was.

His eyes. While everyone had been watching the fight as a whole, Cinder had been looking at Jaune’s eyes. Rather more accurately she’d paid close attention to the brief glimpses she’d seen of them.

They were cold, unwavering, and merciless. Something you’d see in a veteran huntsman with decades of experience. They promised pain, and they didn’t care how much their target suffered. They were….entrancing to her.

“Cinder?” 

“Huh?” Cinder blinked back to her senses after hearing her name. She turned to the one that had broken her out of her musings. “Did you say something Emerald?”

Emerald raised an eyebrow at her. It wasn’t like her to space out. “I asked what you thought about that little show we just saw.”

Cinder hummed as she tapped her finger lightly on her cheek. She kept her gaze locked onto Jaune as he trudged up the stairs to sit next to his team and friends, not even bothering to go back to the lockers to change out of his combat gear. 

Jaune didn’t acknowledge her staring as he was congratulated and swarmed by his teammates and sister team before he could even sit down. His orange haired teammate and the long haired blonde seemed really excited as they both got behind him to clapped him on the back, accidentally knocking him over the table in front of them. Her eyes narrowed slightly as the boy picked himself and chuckled along with the two girls that had knocked him over. Though she made an amused hum when she saw the confused look return to his face after they all calmed down.

With a devilish smirk, she answered Emerald. “I think that there’s another side to our little blonde knight then we first thought.”

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**Word Count = 10048 (All SFW)**

**Posted on Ao3: February 17, 2020**

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter is only the first part of the commission, I just wanted to finally post some of the work I've done so far to finally show @the-wayward-arc some of the work I've been doing. I'll be working to get out the next part as soon as I can.


End file.
